Container top opener

ABSTRACT

An opener including a loop with both ends fastened to the side of an elongated handle at a position spaced between one end of the handle and its center, so that the loop can be bent in either direction lengthwise of the handle and used to cinch the handle against a lid to be turned therewith to screw the lid loose from a container.

U United States Patent [157 3,678,788 Matti 1451 July 25, 1972 [54] CONTAINER TOP OPENER 1,797,446 3 1931 Salmon ..81/64 72 Inventor: Leo F. Matti, 3605 Guilford Rd, f gglggg 2x333 Rockford I. 61107 [22] Filed: Oct. 2, 1970 Primary Emminer-lames L. Jones, Jr.

[ pp No 77 543 Att0rne v--Wolfe, Hubbard, Leydig, Voit & Osann, Ltd.

[57] ABSTRACT An opener including a loop with both ends fastened to the side i i 81/} 43 64 of an elongated handle at a position spaced between one end le 0 r of thc handle and 5 center so that the p can be bent in [56] References Cited either direction lengthwise of the handle and used to cinch the UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/1936 Hodson ..8 l/3. 43

handle against a lid to be turned therewith to screw the lid loose from a container.

2 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures CONTAINER TOP OPENER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an appliance for loosening closure members from screw-top containers and is especially designed for use by housewives and others who encounter difiiculty in opening jars with lids which are stuck or otherwise found to be difficult to turn. More specifically, the invention is of the type with a handle which carries a strip of flexible material formed into a loop for gripping around the closure member or lid and holding the handle thereagainst so they are rotatable together to loosen the lid from the container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The general object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved opener of the above general character having a loop which can be sized selectively to cinch a handle to a greater variety of types and sizes of lids than was heretofore possible.

A more specific object is to arrange the loop of flexible material on the handle in a novel manner so that the loop may be bent to extend alternatively past either end of the handle to cinch the opener to large closure members of varying sizes when bent in one direction and small closure members of varying sizes when bent in the other direction.

The invention also resides in the novel placement of the loop relative to the handle such that as an increasing amount of force is applied to the handle to unscrew the lid the loop is cinched tighter around the lid to reduce the possibility of slippage.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the hand of a user holding a new and improved opener embodying the novel features of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the opener placed around the lid of a container.

the opener in a reversed direction and placed around a still smaller lid.

FIG. 6 is a top view showing in addition a second opener being used to hold the container.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary cross-section similar to FIG. 3, showing an alternative embodiment of the opener.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the invention is embodied in a screw-top, container opener 10 (FIG. 1) of the type used to loosen closure members or lids from screw-top jars, cans or screw-cork bottles and the like. The opener, being simple to operate and providing a great deal of additional leverage to open even the most obstinate of lids, is especially well suited by anyone encountering the difficulties of loosening a tightly stuck lid 11 from a jar 13 (FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 1, the opener comprises a handle 14 carrying a flexible strip 15 of material which is formed into a loop 16 for gripping around the lid and cinching the handle against a portion of an edge 17 of the lid. Once the opener is tightened around the lid, a user can push on the handle to twist the lid loose from the jar.

In accordance with the present invention, the opener I0 is constructed in a novel manner to enable it to be used to selectively twist loose lids of various types and sizes. For this purpose, the opener includes the strip 15 connected to the handle 14 at a unique position spaced from a near end 19 of the handle a distance less than one-half the handle length. In this position, a portion of the loop may be bent to extend beyond either end 19 or 20 of the handle and. cinched around the lid 11 to hold the handle in a fixed engagement with the lid. When bent towards the near end, a large portion of the loop (FIGS. 3 and 4) extends past that end and coacts therewith to cinch the handle to various sizes of larger lids. When bent toward the far end 20, a small portion of the loop (FIG. 5) extends past and coacts with that end to cinch the handle to various sizes of smaller lids. Thereafter, as the handle is pushed, the lid and handle rotate together to twist the lid loose from the container 13.

With reference to the embodiment shown in FIGS. I through 5, the handle 14, which may be constructed of wood, plastic or other suitable material, is shown as an elongated, generally rectangular member of predetermined length and width with essentially square, near and far ends 19 and 20. Connected to the handle is a strip 15 forming the loop 16 which is sufficient length to extend alternatively past either of the ends (FIGS. 3 and 5) and be tightened to cinch the handle to a great variety of small or large lids. Thereafter, the handle can be pushed to twist the lid I1 loose from its container 13. To reduce the possibility of the loop slipping around the lid as the handle is pushed, the flexible strip is provided with a friction surface 21 forming the inside surface of the loop. Flexible materials such as leather or plastic lined fabrics which are operable to develop a relatively high frictional engagement with the edge 17 of the lid have been found to be well suited for this purpose.

To connect the strip 15 to the handle 14, the end portions 23 and 24 of the strip are received within a rectangular slot 25 in the handle and are held therein by a nail 26 (FIG. 2) which is driven lengthwise into the handle from the near end and passes through the end portions 23 and 24. The slot is cut lengthwise to extend partially across the width of the handle at a position spaced a distance of approximately one-fourth of the handle length from the near end 19 to a depth extending two-thirds to three-fourths the way through the handle. Thus, a loop 16 is securely connected within the slot to prevent the ends from being pulled free of the handle as it is pushed to twist the lid loose from the container 13.

To adjust the opener 10 of the present embodiment to fit around lids of relatively large and small sizes, the loop 16 can be bent to extend past either the near or far ends 19 and 20 of the handle 14. For instance, when the opener is used to loosen small lids, the loop is bent to extend past the far end to leave a small portion of the loop for cinching around small lids. On the other hand, when the opener is used to loosen large lids, the loop is bent to extend past the near end to leave a large portion of the loop for cinching around large lids. Thus, by bending the loop in a selected direction along the length of the handle the user controls the general size of the loop portion which is to fit around the lid.

Once the general size of the loop 16 has been selected, the latter is placed around the edge 17 of the lid 11 with the handle l4 turned lengthwise in a generally radial direction with respect to the lid so that the loop is on a side 27 of the handle opposite the direction which the lid is to be twisted (FIG. 3). Thus, if a right-hand-threaded lid is to be loosened, the user holds the container 13 with one hand, the handle of the opener with the other and places a portion of the loop around the edge 17 of the lid so that the loop is on the side 27 opposite the direction the lid is to be twisted, which in this case would be counterclockwise. When the opener is used to twist the lid,

the handle always precedes the loop in the direction the lid is twisted. After being placed around the edge of the lid, the loop must be cinched to frictionally connect the opener to the lid so the handle and the lid can be moved as a. single unit.

To efiect cinching of the loop 16 around the lid 11, the handle 14 is rotated in the plane of the lid forcing a portion of one of the ends 19 or 20, depending upon the size of the lid, against a leading leg 29 of the loop (FIG. 3) to hold it against the lid while a trailing leg 30 of the loop is stretched to tighten a portion of the loop around the edge of the lid and cinch the handle and lid together as a single unit. The portion of the end 19 or 20 pressing against the leading leg acts as a pivot point 31 about which the handle is rotated to stretch the trailing leg thereby increasing the tension in the portion of the loop around the lid. In other words, the handle acts as a radial member which when rotated about the pivot point tends to stretch the trailing leg because it does not have a common rotational center with the handle. Once the top is tightened around the lid, the handle is essentially locked against the lid for unitary movement therewith and, in effect, acts generally as a lever arm to which force may be applied to twist the lid and loosen it.

This method of tightening the loop 16 around the lid 11 also acts to further adjust the loop for the size of lid to be loosened. Consequently, the loop can be used to open various sizes of large or small lids, depending upon the amount of rotation of the handle 14 necessary to tighten the loop around the lid. For

instance, if the opener 10 is to be used on the largest diameter lid of the large size lids, the pivot point 31 locates on the near end 19 at a substantially vertical trailing edge 33 defined by the junction of the near end and the rearward side 27 (FIG. 3). In this position, the ends 23 and 24 of the loop are located at their shortest efi'ective distance from the edge 17 of the lid thereby limiting the loop to its maximum size for fitting around large lids. On the other hand, if the opener is to be used to loosen the smallest diameter lid of the large size lids, the pivot points locates on the near end at a substantially vertical leading edge 34 defined by the junction of the near end and a forward side 35 of the handle (FIG. 4). In this latter lo cation, the ends of the loop are at their longest distance from the edge 17 thereby limiting the loop to its minimum size for fitting around large lids.

This same procedure is used to tighten the loop 16 around the lid 11 whether the portion of the loop fitting around the lid extends past either the near or far ends 19 and 20 of the handle 14. It is noted, however, that if the loop is reversed from extending in one direction along the length of the handle to extend in the other direction the trailing leg 30 becomes the leading leg and, similarly, the leading leg 29 becomes the trailing leg (FIG. Consequently, at either end ofthe handle, the location of the pivot point 31 determines the size of the loop. Thus, is is seen that, the interaction of the handle and loop, when selectively bent along the handle, adapts the opener to fit lids of varying large and small sizes.

Although the opener has been described with the ends 23 and 24 of the strip of material as being held in the slot 25 by the nail 26, it will be recognized that the novel features of the present invention can be incorporated in openers with the strip of material connected in a variety of ways. For instance, an opener 36 incorporating the features of the present invention is shown in FIG. 7 and is constructed with a slot 37 out completely through the handle 39. In this instance, the ends 40 and 41 of a strip 43 extend through the slot and are fastened in a recess 37 in the opposite side 44 of the handle by a screw 45.

As shown in FIG. 6, a second opener 10a may be placed around the container 13 to loosen lids which are particularly difficult to turn either because of being very tightly stuck on the container or because the container is hard to hold. In this instance, the second opener is used to grip around the container and to hold it from turning while another opener 10 is used to rotate the lid 11. When used in this manner, the direction of the force applied to the handle of the second opener is opposite to the direction of the force that is applied to turn the lid. Using two openers in this fashion will loosen even the hardest sticking lid from its container.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the new and improved opener 10 of the present invention is exceedingly effective when used to loosen lids from screw-top containers and, because of its novel construction, the opener can be used on a wide variety of difierentlg sized lids. For these purposes, the loop 16 IS connected to t e handle 14 at a position such that when the loop is bent in one direction lengthwise of the handle a differently sized portion of the loop extends beyond the end of the handle than when the loop is bent in the other direction. This allows the user to select the general size of the loop portion to be used to cinch the handle to the lid. Moreover, the sizes of the lids which the extending portion of the loop can fit around varies within limits depending upon the amount the handle is rotated to tighten the loop.

I claim as my invention:

1. An opener which is selectively adjustable to be cinched around screw-top container lids of varying sizes to give the user additional leverage for loosening a lid from a container, said opener comprising, an elongated handle to be cinched against said lid for unitary rotation therewith when pushed against to twist the lid loose from its container, and a loop of flexible material projecting from one side of said handle from a position nearer to one end than to the other end of the handle and bendable lengthwise along said side of the handle selectively toward the near end of the handle and the far end of the handle to extend a large loop portion beyond the near end and a small loop portion beyond the far end for cinching around at least two general sizes of lids, said handle having a first sharp edge formed on the near end thereof to be pressed against the large loop portion to hold the loop against larger sized lids and to serve as a fulcrum about which said handle may be pivoted to tighten the loop and lock the handle for unitary rotation with the larger sized lids, said handle further having a second sharp edge formed on the far end of said handle to be pressed against the small loop portion to hold the loop against smaller sized lids to serve as a second fulcrum about which said handle may be pivoted to tighten the loop and lock the handle for unitary rotation with the smaller sized lids.

2. An opener which is selectively adjustable to be cinched around screw-top container lids of varying sizes to give the user additional leverage for loosening a lid from a container, said opener comprising, an elongated handle to be cinched against said lid for unitary rotation therewith when pushed against to twist the lid loose from its container, and a loop of flexible material projecting from one side of the handle from a position nearer to one end than to the other end of the handle and bendable lengthwise along said side selectively toward the near end of the handle and the far end of the handle to extend a large loop portion beyond the near end and a small loop portion beyond the far end for cinching around four general sizes of lids, said handle having first and second sharp edges formed on the one side of the handle at the near and far ends respectively and further having third and fourth sharp edges formed on the opposite side of the handle also at the near and far ends respectively, said first and second edges being adapted to be pressed against the large and small loop portions to hold the loop against large and small sizes of lids and to serve as fulcrums about which said handle may be pivoted to tighten the loop and lock the handle for unitary rotation with the lid, said third and fourth edges also being adapted to be pressed against the large and small loop portions to hold the loop against smaller large and small sizes of lids and to serve as fulcrums about which said handle may be pivoted to tighten the loop and lock the handle for unitary rotation with the lid. 

1. An opener which is selectively adjustable to be cinched around screw-top container lids of varying sizes to give the user additional leverage for loosening a lid from a container, said opener comprising, an elongated handle to be cinched against said lid for unitary rotation therewith when pushed against to twist the lid loose from its container, and a loop of flexible material projecting from one side of said handle from a position nearer to one end than to the other end of the handle and bendable lengthwise along said side of the handle selectively toward the near end of the handle and the far end of the handle to extend a large loop portion beyond the near end and a small loop portion beyond the far end for cinching around at least two general sizes of lids, said handle having a first sharp edge formed on the near end thereof to be pressed against the large loop portion to hold the loop against larger sized lids and to serve as a fulcrum about which said handle may be pivoted to tighten the loop and lock the handle for unitary rotation with the larger sized lids, said handle further having a second sharp edge formed on the far end of said handle to be pressed against the small loop portion to hold the loop against smaller sized lids to serve as a second fulcrum about which said handle may be pivoted to tighten the loop and lock the handle for unitary rotation with the smaller sized lids.
 2. An opener which is selectively adjustable to be cinched around screw-top container lids of varying sizes to give the user additional leverage for loosening a lid from a container, said opener comprising, an elongated handle to be cinched against said lid for unitary rotation therewith when pushed against to twist the lid loose from its container, and a loop of flexible material projecting from one side of the handle from a position nearer to one end than to the other end of the handle and bendable lengthwise along said side selectively toward the near end of the handle and the far end of the handle to extend a large loop portion beyond the near end and a small loop portion beyond the far end for cinching around four general sizes of lids, said handle having first and second sharp edges formed on the one side of the handle at the near and Far ends respectively and further having third and fourth sharp edges formed on the opposite side of the handle also at the near and far ends respectively, said first and second edges being adapted to be pressed against the large and small loop portions to hold the loop against large and small sizes of lids and to serve as fulcrums about which said handle may be pivoted to tighten the loop and lock the handle for unitary rotation with the lid, said third and fourth edges also being adapted to be pressed against the large and small loop portions to hold the loop against smaller large and small sizes of lids and to serve as fulcrums about which said handle may be pivoted to tighten the loop and lock the handle for unitary rotation with the lid. 